ho ho ho

Merry Christmas kids - you especially Kel! Did you get my postcard? I hate to ruin the surprise but I've been waiting for ages to hear you mention that you got it....

Mr Sadieandlance and I have been busy running around the country side doing family visits north, south west and back east again - all directions. It's been great and lovely to see everyone. And look what I got up to at Grandma's:

Spinning! And here's my end product:

It was really really really hard (you need some sort of co ordinatioon or something) and so my end product wasn't exaclty mind blowing but I managed (just). And we even pulled out Grandma's carding machine and had a go at carding the wool old skool.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

I know we're spread all over the place for Christmas, but i'll be thinking of you all while i'm sunning myself on a beach in Queensland.

Have a great Festive Season everyone.

(Funnily enough, Christmas season coincides with homebrewin season. And it's a serious affair this year!)

Christmas Deco's

Hi All,
Robyn asked me to post these to ya'll so I thought this would be the logical place to do it. She received these yesterday and loves them!
There's some little globes


And some lovely kimono's


Sammy loves them too (isn't she beautiful! Even if she is flashing her lady parts!)


Robby said she had an audience for her photo shoot too :)


Great job Al!

To do 2007

I have a backlog of projects. Not the unfinished object kind (although I have those too), the 'take a mental note and make that one day' kind. So I have decided the end of the year with new beginnings etc. Is a good time for some of these projects to make their appearance. This is a 'live' list, but I thought I might document the beginnings of it here. But really I'm just hoping the rest of you will put up your 2007 ambitions, craft or otherwise.

1. Buy more craft books.

I recently got this haul in Melbourne. Melbourne rocks for all things craft related. Shits all over Sydney. Anyway, these books are fabulous. Especially the Elizabeth Zimmermann one. I was telling B that her books are more like knitting philosophy than pattern books. I love it. B wasn't so keen on the idea, so maybe i'm demented. But it works for me :)And it leads me to:

2. Knit this
This is the best pattern for a piece of baby clothing i've seen. I think it's gorgeous. It also gave me an excuse to buy the book. Now can one of you please add 'have baby' to your list so that I have someone the make it for :) Thanks!

3. Make this
This is my most ambitious (and unlikely) 2007 project. I just don't think I have the sewing skills for this. It involves piping, and unless they have a cheating foot for that it sounds like it's going to be rather painful. But I think they look just fabulous finished. See here, and here. The fabric is ready and waiting:


I expect i'll need this too, with all the traveling to Down by the Beach in Country Victoria, Melbourne (I'm inviting myself :) and the Sunshine Coast (the parents have decided to cease the itinerant lifestyle and have purchased a block of land. They say the house will be built by Christmas next year. They have already invited John's parents and brothers to a big family Christmas next year. Hooray......? This makes me mildly nervous. Only Mildly. They already spend time together without John and I.)

4. Oh how I love thee, Shetland Triangle (Three rows down, second one across)
I have seen some fabulous versions of this. Interestingly, most of the ones I've seen that I really like are in dark or scarlet reds. I reckon I've got me clap to cover off on the days i'm feeling like a scarlet women (I wear it a lot) so I've got this instead

It's bloody hard to find deep green yarn. I get a bit swoony whenever I walk past this. I can't wait :)

5. I will felt
In brighter colours of course! I still don't have a 'knitting bag' and I think this would make a good one. Especially in Noro or bright stripes. And felting looks like fun. Once I get over the fact that you intentionally sabotage perfectly good knitted items.

6. I sock, therefore I am
Oh how I covet thee, Pomatomus. Especially after seeing this (I'm not stalking you, Elliphantom Knits, really i'm not). And I already have the yarn:


Martini anyone? Tis the season. This obviously means I need to make a pair of simpler socks first. I'm thinking this will be good Christmas knitting while Robbie (JDs mum) and I sit on the balcony and use her army of boy-children to bring us Pimms and Dry (with just a slice of cucumber, thank you very much).

7. On the crochet front
My grand plan is to finish a garment (not an accessory). I'm thinking either this or this. So whoever it was with 'have baby' on their list, you better make it twins. And make one a girl. A girl that likes to wear dresses. Shaz, i'm thinking this is sounding remarkably like your genetic gene pool (hahahaha, only teasing). Gorgeous patterns though aren't they.

8. My oldest and dearest UFO

Sometimes you carry baggage, both literal and emotional, this is what this is to me. I don't really feel ready to write about this yet. But it's about time I dealt with it.

Did I tell you?

That I got this for my Birthday?

I dont think I will be getting much work done next year!

Except for knitting of course!

Baking Fiasco (or How Shazmina LOST the Xmas Spirit)

Ok, so yesterday was the day I was to make the THREE Xmas cakes I had decided to bake for gifts to some of my peeps. What a DRAMA it turned out to be!

1. Was aiming to start the process EARLY Sunday morning. First fatal mistake, forgot to buy Treacle. Made an early morning (9am) dash to local Franklins, no treacle. Ok, made a dash (9.37am) to local Woolworths, not open until 10am. WHAT THE F*****! Waited for it to open. Purchased missing ingredient and a couple of extra things, did some quick xmas shopping and returned home by 11.15am.
2. Started step one, which involved boiling Guinness and treacle and soaking fruit. Second Fatal mistake, had to wait until the mixture was room temperature to go to next step. Do you know how long it takes for something to go to room temp in the middle of the day in summer??? TWO HOURS MINIMUM!
3. First time I have baked in the oven in my apartment. Fatal Mistake Three, trying to bake TWO cakes at a time in an untested oven.
4. After 45 minutes of the baking time, the cakes had blackened edges and bounced back to the touch AND skewer came out clean (very weird). So I pulled them out. Fatal mistake Four, they were very well cooked on the outside but not on the inside. Top of cakes collapsed under the strain.
5. TWO delicious Guinness fruitcakes ended up in my bin. What a waste! All that beautiful Guinness, treacle and fruit and it ended up in the bin! And the people who were going to get these cakes, will miss out on their deliciousness :( Luckily they didn't know they were receiving them!

What about cake number three I hear you ask? Well I cooked it on a lower heat and checked it every 15 minutes and it came out beautifully! AND it is all mine!!! MWAHAHAHAHA! After all the work I put in, I figure I deserve it all to myself! Ok, I may share a piece or two with you guys, but they will be very small pieces and you only get one each!! MWAHAHAHAHA!

So there you have it. Sunday 10th of December 2006 will be forever known as the Xmas Cake Disaster of 2006 (or how Shazmina spent a quiet Sunday sweating over a hot stove FOR NOTHING!!!)

100 degrees in the shade...

That's what my poor Caccie is thinkin'... poor luv.


Actually truth be told it was 40 degrees today (not 100) and 37 degrees expected for tomorrow...not 100 but you know, might as well be.

The whole of Victoria is on fire and unfortunately my Sister chose this weekend to come and visit for bridesmaid shopping, poor thing.

(( That's me in one of the 15 dresses I tried on and this is us and our sneaky dressing room photos taken while fake coughing. Aren't I a Good Maid of Honour?!))

So, 40 degrees indeed...luckily I've been sustained, not by cider but, by this...

"Hmm...hot country thirsty colonists"...

Ahh James Squire Golden Ale, quaffable indeed, summer dinking - I concur. (read the label). Thanks for the inspiration Brownpants!

I Love a good Fart Joke!

You know I do! :)

And this is HILARIOUS!

Reasons to smile

Things that made me happy today:

A $2 Santa for the Pot at the front door

Some Christmas presents in preparation (apart from the onions. They're destined to become version 2 of below)

JD's Spring Onions. The only thing in the garden he claims as his. He inspects them and waters them every day, commenting on each little bit of growth. I don't know if he'll be able to eat them, they're almost part of the family now!

And an old favourite found

Things that made me not so happy:

Spending most of my day with these and this. So sad.